Business ethics Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Business ethics - Term Paper Example However, it is worth to note that such move put my job on the line from two perspectives. Revealing the truth will upset the company through possible sales back clash and ruined image. Internal conscience and professional ethics also push for doing the right thing. Reconciling these two difficult situations constitutes the pressure in making the final decision concerning the defective products. The main question that is important in this case is what ought to be right. In this respect, the monetary gain of an action may not necessarily be right and as such must be shunned. In this respect, it would be important to enlist the Kant ethical theory which emphasizes the moral obligation to do what is right even if it might have small quantitative gain. In the short run, the company may enjoy but individual sales team would be breaching ethical codes expected of them in keeping the truth from the clients. Making such special payments amount to illegal and unethical business practices. It is important to note that legal structure guiding business in United States shuns corruption. Besides, fair competition offers level ground so that firms can compete on quality judged by customer under no undue influence. Critical ethical assessment of the act puts personal conscience on perpetual slavery of guilt on what may happen next and the magnitude of the problem. It is there important to act on the right rather that from the utilitarian perspective which considers only gains. In that respect, I would oppose my company’s plan to pay the $ 5000 special fee. Some of the consideration includes the potential explosion of product defective nature that will ultimately bring the company down. On the other hand such an action would provoke investigation on the legal platform on which such a business is to be operated. Should the authorities find out the illegal arrangement, the

Products, Services and prices in the Free

Products, Services and prices in the Free Market Essay Price elasticity of demand is a term commonly used in economic and business studies to mean an elasticity that measures the degree of the relationship between variation in quantity demanded of a good and variation in its price. In most cases normal goods and most inferior goods price drops results into increase in the quantity demanded. But goods for which there is no substitute are generally inelastic. This type of demand is relatively associated with necessities. However, products with a high elasticity in most cases have many substitutes. (Karl 1999)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the case of Southern Airline, there are various airlines that operate through the same part of America. Thus there are a number of substitutes in the area which means that the demand is elastic. If for example the company charge too much on its tickets, people are likely to move to the other forms of air travel in Texas. (Karl 1999) Demand for giffen goods or Veblen goods are considered to increase with increase in price. First class air travel happened to rank in the classification of giffen goods (goods whose demand increase with increase in price) so I would advice you to increases the price of the first class tickets but not for the ordinary class passages. (Henderson 2004)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On the other hand, there is a case of price inflation, during an economic bubble, consumer perception have a crucial role in explaining products’ demand in some categories. If for example you   increase your prices, customers may come on the perception that you are charging higher because you are offering higher quality services. This in return will have a positive impact on the company’s revenue. (Karl 1999)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Price elasticity demand is affected by a number of factors but all of them are under one umbrella the ‘choice’.   By choice we mean the power of choice the consumers of a certain good holds to give up the consumption of the said good. All this is due to consumer’s ‘perceived value’ like first class those customers value their prestige and will not do without it. So I would advice you to increase the 1st class ticket prices. Also, on the other classes based on the principle of price inflation during an economic bubble you can increase the price believing that people will perceive that there is quality improvement and respond positively thereby increasing the overall revenue. (Sowell 2004) Air travel is a basic necessity to some long distance travelers in America. This means that if price is increased they will probably not change their mode of transport. Thus change in price is not likely to affect much the change in demand since the elasticity of the product is not too elastic.   I would advice you to increase the price since you offer good quality service, Air travel to some people is habitual and they will still come, most of the people   who use air travel have good income and thus they will not be affected or strain financially and thus realize some decreased revenue. (Karl 1999)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Income Elasticity of demand evaluates the responsiveness of quantity demanded of good to the variation in the income of people demanding this good. It is the ratio of the percentage change in quantity demanded to the percent change in income. (Henderson 2004)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In this case, the third class travelers who are the majority have a negative income elasticity of demand. This means that an increase in income will lead to a decrease in the quantity demanded for some specific less luxurious class. Therefore if customer’s income is increased by 10%, they will tend to move to the higher prestigious classes. Also, more people who would like to travel by air and find it economically straining if their income is raised, they would travel by air that means that increase in consumer income by 10% may result to increase in the demand by same proportion. A zero income elasticity of demand would occur in the prestigious class travel. This means that increase in their income will not have an effect on their demand. (Karl 1999) AN OVERVIEW OF SOUTHWEST AIRLINES Southwest Airlines was originally started to serve three cities in Texas as Air Southwest back in 1967 by Rolling King and Herb Kelleher. These routes were Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. It is the largest airline that operates within California, with 694 flights total in the state, 370 of which are intra-California. Currently, Southwest operates in 64 cities in 32 states, with more than 3,300 flights a day. It has notably large operations in certain airports. These airports operate non-stop flights to more than half of the Southwest system. It also uses other secondary airports which have lower costs which may or may not be, more convenient to travelers than the major airports to the same destinations such as Midway Airport in Chicago and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. The company offers both the local and international airline services. An average of three quarters of Southwest passengers is local passengers, meaning only a quarter of all passengers are connecting passengers. This is relatively higher than most airlines, where travelers often connect in hub cities. Southwest Airlines has also set a goal to code share with ATA and begin international codeshare services or ticket for international flights in 2009. Destinations that may be served by this include Canada, the Caribbean, and Mexico Southwest Airlines also makes exceptions to the philosophy of serving those secondary airports by flying into some larger airports in major cities, such as Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Success and profitability of this company led to a common trend named after the company as The Southwest Effect. The price in the company may drop when a low fare carrier or any aggressive and innovative company comes into market. They believe that a drop in price not only doubles the customers but may quadruple them. Southwest has a program to hedge fuel prices. It purchases fuel options years in advance so to smooth out fuel costs variations. This helps the company to take market conditions advantage for example in 2000. It also hopes to take advantage of historically low prices of jet. According to its 2006 Annual Report, fuel prices have been fluctuating over the past years: 2004 82.8 cents/gallon 2005 103.3 cents/gallon 2006 153.0 cents/gallon  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   www.southwest.com/about us In conclusion, it can be said that price can be increased in the case of the Southwest Airline under conventional economic assumptions of consumer rationality: that people will look for the quality not the pricing. Also, company has a relatively inelastic demand and the prices will not affect the customers. So it is advisable to raise the price also because the ‘good’ in this case is giffen good. Reference Karl E. Ray C. (1999). Principles of Economics (5th ed.). Prentice-Hall Publishers Henderson, H (2004), Supply and Demand. Kessinger Publishers Sowell T (2004). Basic Economics: A Citizens Guide to the Economy Basic Book Publishers Smith A (1982), The Wealth of Nations. Penguine Classics www.southwest.com/about us

Bali Summer :: essays research papers

I still memorize those hot humid nights in Bali, Indonesia. I thought I fainted when I got of the plane at the airport. The heat of the air, hit me in the face, and felt like it threw me on the ground. We settled into the airport which was just one large hall which was a un organised position and uncontrollable from all passengers coming of their planes. We got our luggage and made our way to Ubud our first destination for seven quick nights. The reason of visit to this part of Indonesia was because it is near the monkey forest and temples. This trip overseas was my very first holiday overseas and I was thrilled. The idea for a trip to Bali was because close friends said it was the best. We found out soon enough it was heaven for fake merchandise, clothing and lots of others things. We visited the monkey forest that which was a time of my life. At the front of the forest there was a shop selling peanuts for the monkeys. We where far unaware that once we entered the forest, there where signs saying not to feed the monkeys. We then followed the path through the forest that was covered by large tree canopy and gigantic trees. We started throwing peanuts on the ground around us and monkeys hastily followed and ate on unaware of us. Once we threw a sparse amount of peanuts we got surrounded by monkeys and where outnumbered by them. My dad put his hands in his pockets, and one monkey pounced at him with no warning. My dad shacks the monkey off and we promptly walked off to escape the attack. We visited and witnessed most interesting old temples and thousands of years old bridges. From Ubud, we made our way to Kuta that was much more of a tourist style town. Our resort was humongous with beach frontage. The next day we walk down the main road where we find that there is a large theme park called Water Bomb park close by. We then walked to the markets where there was the fake gear. We picked up Nike, Addidas and Fila shorts and t-shirts for a ridiculously cheap price. We found out that there was a McDonalds and KFC near the market with identical fast food menu to Australia. How lucky for us. We still tried out all the international restaurants near by.

Effects of War Presented in Journey’s End Compared with Impact of War Shown in Strange Meeting Essay

Explore the ways in which the effects of war on the individual are presented in ‘Journey’s End’. Then compare the ways in which Sherriff presents the effects of war on the individual with the ways in which Hill shows the impact of war on characters in ‘Strange Meeting’. The character most obviously affected by the war in ‘Journey’s End’ is Stanhope. We learn early on in the play that Stanhope drinks very heavily when Osborne and Hardy have a conversation about him. â€Å"I never did see a youngster put away the whisky he does. This is the first we see of the effects that the war has had on an individual and although there are other characters that are also affected, Stanhope appears to be the most prominent. It becomes apparent that Stanhope made a conscious decision to drink as a coping mechanism to deal with the war. â€Å"It was after I came back here- in that awful affair on Vimy Ridge. I knew I’d go mad if I didn’t break the strain. I couldn’t bear being fully conscious all the time†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Here we learn that it wasn’t until a particular attack within the war that Stanhope began to feel the strain and the pressure, and alcohol becomes an escape for him. He says â€Å"There are only two ways of breaking the strain. One was pretending I was ill- and going home; the other was this. [He holds up his glass]†. Sherriff could have shown us a minor character so deeply affected by alcohol that he had given up, whereas Stanhope appears quite the opposite, whereas in ‘Strange Meeting’ Hill gives us a minor character affected by alcohol. It is also worth noting Raleigh’s reaction to his alcoholism is completely different to how Stanhope fears he will react, and in a way, our reaction too. Rather than look to Stanhope as a weak man who has taken the easy route by drinking excessive amounts, we seem to view him as courageous and strong willed. We later learn when he is talking to Hibbert, that Stanhope isn’t as strong and resistant as we were originally led to believe. â€Å"Sometimes I feel I could just lie down on this bed and pretend I was paralysed or something- and couldn’t move- and just lie there till I died- or was dragged away†. The effects of war on Stanhope are presented both subtly and obviously. His drinking habits are continually referred to throughout and although we learn early on that it is something that the war has forced him into, his hatred for the war or his weak moments aren’t made clear to the reader until now when he admits his loathing to Hibbert. Hill’s character, Colonel Garrett in ‘Strange Meeting’ is similar to Stanhope in the sense that both characters are driven to excessive drinking by the effects of the war. Colonel Garrett has changed and also turned to drink, we know this as the prose reads that â€Å"Hilliard was appalled; he had not dreamed that this could happen and so quickly to a man like Garrett†. Despite this scene being the first time we are introduced to Colonel Garrett; Hill manages to present the impact the war has had on him through Hilliard’s reaction to Garrett’s new state of character. In contrast to Hill, Sheriff is less subtle in his presentation of Stanhope and the character himself admits his change. It is interesting to note that Garrett is minor within the novel whereas Stanhope is a major character in the play which shows the different ways in which each author chose to present the effect of alcohol within their text. At the beginning of the play, Raleigh appears to be optimistic and enthusiastic. Even when he is ordered to go on a raid he seems proud to have been chosen and eager to get out there; â€Å"I say- it’s most frightfully exciting! † however, this raid then triggers a change in Raleigh. After Osborne’s death, Raleigh becomes distant and resentful towards the other officers. â€Å"Good god! Don’t you understand? How can I sit down and eat that- when- when Osborne’s- lying- out there†. Not only is he struggling to cope and raising his voice; which he hadn’t done before, but he is also shouting at Stanhope. Prior to this, Raleigh had always treated Stanhope with the utmost respect. Similar to Sheriff’s character of Raleigh is Hill’s character of Barton in ‘Strange Meeting’ who also changes after the impact of experiencing a death. â€Å"That his face had changed, in the space of a day and a night that his eyes have taken on the common look of shock and misery and exhaustion†¦Ã¢â‚¬  As with Raleigh in ‘Journey’s End’, Barton also began the novel full of optimism and energy. However, Sheriff presents the effects of the war on Raleigh by having his character lashing out and blaming others. This contrasts with Hill’s presentation of Barton, who takes on a more morose, downhearted way of coping. â€Å"You cannot and must not spend any more time blaming yourself, saying if only this and if only that. It’s useless†. However, the parallel is that both characters change due to another soldier’s death which affects the impact on the reader. The effect of the war on Hibbert (Journey’s end), another officer in the company, is firstly presented subtly, in the way that he speaks of his neuralgia preventing him from carrying on in the war. We soon learn that he wants to go home and is willing to make up any excuse in order to do so. This shows how the war has taken away his pride and dignity as he admits that he would rather die. â€Å"Go on, then, shoot! You won’t let me go to hospital. I swear I’ll never go into those trenches again. Shoot! – and thank god-â€Å". The war has affected Hibbert so deeply that he is prepared to die rather than continue fighting. The character, Harris in ‘Strange Meeting’ is very similar to Hibbert. Harris has a breakdown when their battalion arrives at ‘Feuvry’; â€Å"Then Harris lurched up, and forwards, his head touched his knees and he began to cry, not lifting his hands to wipe his face†. However, where Sheriff presents us with a man so desperate to depart that he is willing to lie about an illness and is prepared to die rather than continue in the war, Hill presents us with an ironic situation. The irony of the situation is that when Harris eventually comes out of the basement; he is killed. Both writers choose to present us with individuals so affected by the war that they actually suffer from a breakdown in one way or another. Coulter from ‘Strange Meeting’ and Trotter from ‘Journey’s End’ can also be compared. These two characters are similar in the way that they don’t seem to have been affected by the war as they show no signs of degeneration. These two characters are an important contrast to the likes of Barton and Stanhope, whose changes are quite obvious. I feel that not to have changed notably is their response to the war. Coulter and Trotter both appear to be staying as close to their normal, original selves as possible as a coping mechanism for the war. It is interesting to note the genre difference between the two texts. Strange Meeting’ being a novel means that there is far more supportive background and descriptive text for each character whereas ‘Journey’s End’ which is a play, must rely on dramatic encounter in order to demonstrate the development of a character. A lot of things which Hill would tell us in her prose must be relayed to the reader through dialogue or actions in the play. Hill could tell us that Barton came to the war excited and enthusiastic, whereas Sherriff would either have his character say how he felt or the stage directions would have to navigate the actor into getting this feeling across through actions. This makes each author’s presentation of the effects of the war on the individual different automatically. Hill and Sherriff both present the effects that the war has on individuals through similar characters. They present to the reader how the death and destruction within the war can affect even the most strong and positive of men. In both the novel and the play, the authors portray how some men cannot cope with the imminence of what is to come and therefore would rather do anything but deal with it. Both writers examine how war can push men into drinking excessively in order to escape the desperate reality of their situation and use similar characters to highlight the ways in which war affects individuals, however the difference is in the way that the changes are presented. Hill is often more subtle in her presentation of her characters whereas Sherriff more blunt. Despite these differences, the negative effects of war on the individual characters are consistent in both works.

L.L. Bean, Inc. Case Study Essay

1. How does L.L. Bean use past demand data and a specific item forecast to decide how many units of that item to stock? L.L. Bean uses different type of calculation to determine the number of units of a particular item it should stock (new item or never out item). First we detect a frozen demand forecast for the item in the upcoming season. This figure is a result of an agreement between product people, merchandising, design and inventory specialists. Then, we analyze the historical forecast errors (named A/F ratios) and the frequency distribution of these errors for each individual item by using the historical demand and forecast data. Once the historical forecast errors is determined, we define future forecast errors by using frequency distribution of past forecast errors as probability distribution. Finally we find the service level based on a profit margin calculation: determine by balancing contribution margin if demanded against its liquidation cost if not demanded. We can notice that for new items it is more complicated to have good prevision because we know very little about them. 2. What item costs and revenues are relevant to the decision of how many units of that item to stock? Principally, L.L. Bean will need 3 types of data to decide how many units of an item to stock. First, they need to know the buying cost of the item. Then, they need the selling price of the item. With these 2 figures, they can calculate the profit margin and the costs of understocking. The 3rd figure they need is the liquidation cost of an item. With the liquidation cost, they can calculate the costs of overstocking. With all these data, we can decide the final amount of items to stock by comparing the understocking costs and overstocking costs. 3. What information should Scott Sklar have available to help him arrive at a demand forecast for a particular style of men’s shirt that is a new catalog item? Scott Sklar should have data about actual and forecasted demand of new item that were previously introduced. With these data, he can know the different costs of launching a new item. Then, he should have an idea of the selling price given by marketing, sales and production department. With that, he has to know cost of sales, commissions provided for sales, stock outs and backorders cost. He can also compare this new item to the competitor and get sales information. It will help him to understand the  existing market trends for that new item. Following that he should know the level of buffer stock he should have to avoid stock outs by matching stock out costs and over-stocking costs. Finally he should precise the service level by calculating the profit margin and observe if new products are pulling customers away from existing products. All of this will help him to forecast the demand for a new catalogue item. 4. What should L.L. Bean do to improve its forecasting process? L.L. Bean has 5 important things if the company wants to improve its forecasting process: They have to have more than they have market researches to their products they will sell. Actually, they will be understand clearly all news tendencies so they can adapt their stock to the others They don’t have to understand their real demand, because the goal of the real demand is to increase the profitability In the business world, a company has to understand and find a solution ton maintain the accurate and also a timely data that supports the business decisions The company has to have a forecasting discipline. This one will include a commitment to guide the forecasting process in the firm. Moreover, forecasting is strength and an element of strategic decision-making. Right people have to be involved. In fact, the forecasting management involves that people need to have an easy access to input their intelligence for the forecast, for those who have market information. This intelligenc e has to be used because this will provide information on future demand spikes and troughs.